Entries in Renault
(4)

Lotus was the prize all along in Geely's quest for Proton, but will it have the patience to do for it what it did for Volvo?Barely seven months ago, Chinese car maker Geely had dropped out of the bidding war with PSA Group (Peugeot-Citroen) for control over Malaysian automaker Proton and — potentially — Lotus. Exasperated by the dithering management at DRB-Hicom, owner of both Proton and Lotus, Geeley appeared to exit stage left, leaving PSA Group, which did not have Geely’s desire to own the British company, as the only bidder. Then, just as suddenly as it supposedly dropped out of the bidding, Geely and DRB-Hicom announced that the Chinese automaker would take a 49.9% equity stake in Proton, while DRB-Hicom said it would sell its entire stake in Lotus for $129,500,000. Etika Automotive, a subsidiary of Etika Strategy, agreed to buy 49% of Lotus from Proton, with Geely taking the remaining 51%. Interestingly, Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, owner of Etika Strategy, is the billionaire owner of DRB-Hicom.

It looks like VW, Renault and Volvo aren’t the only companies chasing after modular vehicle architectures. Now Toyota has entered the fray with the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). This integrated powertrain and platform strategy development program includes tactical component sharing, and should reduce the pull on its resources by 20%.

With a given name like Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick, you would have expected the man with this moniker to be a British banker or politician, not a racing driver. Like Chris Amon, who returned to sheep farming after his Formula One career ended, Warwick never won a grand prix. However, it wasn’t for lack of talent or trying.

Warwick rose from the backwaters of British stock car racing to drive for the Toleman, Renault, Brabham, Arrows, Lotus and Footwork F1 teams. However, he always seemed to join up after the glory years were over, just before major changes took place within the team that stunted its potential, or stayed with teams too long. It was the latter situation that saw him stay with Renault rather than sign with Williams-Honda, a move which opened the door for Nigel Mansell’s rise to stardom.

Many remember him as the man Ayrton Senna refused to race alongside at Lotus. Senna, at the time a future world champion, wanted the team built around him and attending to his needs. Warwick’s contract, which the Team Lotus principals ultimately refused to sign after aggressively courting the British star, called for equal status with Senna. The Brazilian, however, felt Lotus was incapable of fielding two number one drivers, and worked behind the scenes to have the agreement with Warwick nullified. Surprisingly, Warwick doesn’t hold a grudge and, as the video shows, he feels Senna was doing what he needed to in order to win. When he returned to Lotus years later, the team was a shadow of its former self.

This was not the first or the last major disappointment in Warwick’s racing career, the worst being the on-track death of his younger brother Paul in a Formula 3000 race. This tragedy galvanized Warwick, and led to a campaign to improve circuit safety. It also led to a memorable confrontation with then-Sauber Group C driver Michael Schumacher that ended with Warwick coming close to choking the young driver on the conference table in the Sauber motor home.

Warwick was successful in racing’s top ranks, however, driving for the Jaguar sport car team in 1986 and 1991, as well as Peugeot Talbot Sport in 1992. That was the year Warwick won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All is recounted in the video. It is a fascinating interview. — CAS

A recent not-for-attribution diner conversation with a Michelin representative put the whole DeltaWing program into greater focus. The French tire company did not have to take on this project, it had its hands full with new tire designs for a pair of LMP1 hybrids from Audi and Toyota, a new GT tire design and more. Developing from scratch a whole new set of tires for a vehicle with no predecessor and, therefore, no existing data, could have been a disaster given the existing workload, but Michelin accepted the challenge nonetheless.